how the democracy works. they keep saying we have one shot to change the rules on the first day of congress when the rules are set by majority vote. they keep saying we can fix this problem, and that is still true. but senate democrat leader harry ireid keeps changing what it is on the first day of congress, we thought it would be january 3rd, the day they were sworn in. then we were told they were extending the day until today, the first day. now we're told it will be stretched further even, because nothing happened today. apparently no final decision has been made on whether the democrats are going to change the rules, or how, if they do. the latest report indicates that democrats may be able to pass a more aggressive form of the filibuster if they just allow a deal on the floor. senator reid has reportedly now issued a 36-hour deadline to come up with a deal before the democrats just go ahead and do it on their own. >> i hope within the next 24 to 36 hours we can get something we agree on. if not, we're going to move

forward on what i think needs to be done. >> a threat, neat. but bottom line, as yet, no action. if you have been wondering whether this big change in our government was going to be allowed to stand or whether it might be fixed by filibuster reform on day one of the senate, the news today is that it is apparently still day one of the new senate. it has been weeks now, democrats could still do it, but they have not yet. tick tock now it is time for "the last word" with lawrence o'donnell. tonight, the president's revolve has forced the republican's hand on the debt ceiling. and later in this hour, wayne lapierre, the lobbyist who makes sure that mass murderers have the most weapons, will make a statement in response to the president's inaugural address, in which of course the president said absolutely nothing about gun ownership or the second

amendment. >> our conversation will look to vote on a measure tomorrow. >> the short term raise for the debt ceiling. >> three-month extension of the debt ceiling. >> temporary extending for debt ceiling. >> what is the republican strategy here? >> three months is not good enough. >> they may not even vote for this. >> it is about time we come together, do our work. >> the partisan lines just got deeper. >> john boehner has an 18% approval rating. >> the debt that is crushing the future for our kids. >> this is a party, a retreat. >> a retreat of sorts. >> they may not even vote for this. >> it really is unacceptable. >> they will evolve or die, it is that simple. >> it will stand out as one of the great days. >> today marks 40 years. >> the 40th anniversary of roe v. wade. >> this allows a woman free choice. >> support for reproductive choice is at a record high. >> 54% believe abortion should be legal.

>> there was an assault on women's access to reproductive health care. >> do i believe that the supreme court should overturn roe v. wade? yes. >> 70% say it should not be overturned. >> this is a deeply personal issue, one that should be made by women. >> when times change, so must we. >> this time, all the president had to do to make republicans surrender was take the oath of office. today, house republican leadership made this announcement. >> our conference will look to vote on a measure tomorrow that will temporarily extend the debt ceiling. >> that measure, which is expected to come to the floor early tomorrow afternoon would temporarily suspend the debt limit until may 19th. it says the debt limit shall not apply between those days, which would authorize the treasury to continue to pay debts incurred

until that date. but at a press conference tonight after house republican conference meeting, john boehner could not answer this very simple question from nbc's luke russert. >> you're planning on passing tomorrow -- >> at the white house today, jay carney was pleased to see the republicans moving in the president's direction. >> the president will not negotiate over congress's responsibility to pay the bills that congress has already incurred. that is true today, it will be true in three months and true for as long as he is president. the house republicans made a decision to back away from the kind of brinksmanship that was very concerning to the markets and business. very concerning to the american people. so the fact that the house republicans have made this decision is certainly something that we welcome. >> but jay carney would not say if the president is willing to

urge democrats to help the new boehner plan pass. >> is the president encouraging members of the house to vote for that bill? and would he sign it? veto it? what is the position on the bill? >> as i said the bill still has to overcome concerns expressed by the members of the house and senate, and reach the president's desk. if it does and reaches the president's desk, he would not stand in the way of the bill, the coming law. >> jay carney made this offer on behalf of the president if congress continues to find it impossible to do its job. >> he believes we ought to do this for longer periods of time. he believes that if it is difficult for congress, they can turn it over to him. he will take the heat for making sure that we pay our bills because it is the responsible and right thing to do. so if that were what transpires

after this next round, if congress produces something he would welcome that. >> joining me now, republican congressman mo brooks, and jared bernstein. congressman brooks, what the -- what is going on here? >> well, you have democracy at work. you have a very serious threat to our future with these unsustainable deficits. we are in perhaps the fifth consecutive trillion dollar deficit year, total accumulated debt of $16 trillion, no end in sight. so you have a long-term threat we have to focus our eyes on. but we also have a short-term threat, that is raising the debt ceiling or not. >> are you going to vote for the boehner plan? >> no. >> why not? >> well, let's get to the long-term threat, i want to do whatever is necessary to avoid the risk of bankruptcy. to me, that would be difficult for our country, devastating to

our economy, far worse than any economic period seen in the history of the united states. in my judgment if the federal government becomes insolvent or goes into bankruptcy because the debt has accumulated to such an extent that it overwhelmed our ability to pay. in that context, then, i'm willing to raise the debt ceiling if one or two things happens. first, the constitutional amendment must pass the united states congress and sent to the people. >> that could happen. >> certainly may not happen if we don't try, the second is, substantial spending cuts. >> according to john boehner that is not going to happen either. >> a sincere effort of trying to address the problem, the trillion dollar a year deficits are unsustainable. >> we get that from republicans, i'm trying to get at what has happened within the republican congress in the house such that the day after the inauguration, the republican leadership is saying let's not raise the debt ceiling? let's pretend we simply do not have one.

and do that for a period of months. is that -- is that thing going to get the votes? that is the question that luke russert asked. >> i am not on the whip team, i can't give you a firm answer. there will be no votes from republicans and yes votes, i have no idea. >> that is the question, should they vote for this thing, which by the way contains some crazy provision about congressional pay, describe what this provision does. >> i concur -- >> it suspends their pay as long as they don't -- >> it puts their pay in escrow until basically the next congress if they don't pass a budget. >> let me just read one thing from the constitution of the united states. >> no law varying from the services of representatives

shall take effect until the election of representatives -- you can't pass a law about your pay during that congress. >> with great respect to the congressman here, i'm not an elected official. what i hear him saying is we have a very difficult budget situation. and therefore, we have to go full speed into total dysfunction. and i just don't see how those pieces add up. i mean, if you're really serious about trying to do something about the deficit, which is a long-term problem, versus the economy. in fact, all that messing around with the debt ceiling, all that does is threaten to raise the interest rates, it makes things much worse. if you want to talk about stabilizing the debt, which i would hope you and i would agree would be a goal then we have to talk about raising $1.2 trillion

over the next two years, because we have over a trillion in the bank through spending cuts and tax increases. that 1.2 trillion is not that heavy a lift with a functional congress. but we can't get there if we're playing around with this crazy legislation, that you yourself are not going to vote for. >> remember when you got the house back from nancy pelosi, first thing you did was go out there on the floor and read the constitution. and the new rule was going to be every piece of legislation comes with a constitutional explanation -- and now, here you are in straight violation of the 27th amendment. >> you give me the choice of which side to argue before a court i'm arguing that this is unconstitutional. >> it sounds like complete disarray up there. boehner and cantor, going forward, as far as you can tell you don't know. boehner wouldn't say if he has the votes, democrats are not sure.

what should we do? should we vote for it so it gives us breathing room or continue with this chaos? isn't it chaos? >> well, there is always a degree of uncertainty -- i have been elected in office off and on since 1982. okay? and the alabama legislature and here in the united states congress. and there is always a crisis. it is always accompanied by a degree of uncertainty how it will be addressed. now there are varying degrees, certainly this is at the top of the list. it is always that way. >> the debt ceiling has been increased since the '60s by i think -- i think 80 times, including 18 times over ronald reagan's tenure. the only time we had this kind of chaos over the debt ceiling was in 2011, the last time we ran up against this. >> time out for a second. we have never had this kind of

series of unsustainable budget deficits that threaten the future -- >> not true. >> okay, world war ii. >> aside from that. >> in relative peace time we never had this type of threat to the united states of america. >> so i disagree. >> you can disagree, that is fine, let me finish. we have to act, i would love to act in a more accommodating way. but we have a president who doesn't seem to care about deficits and debt. he will mouth piece. >> you're in a good place. >> i have -- >> i have seen this gentleman in the white house act as he has acted now for four years, and he could have done a lot of things concerning the deficit, the debt, he controlled the united states house -- >> we don't have much time. >> he said -- >> put the talking points and the president aside and let's talk about how we get to where we are to where we need to be. i think it will pass, we have a number of months, i would say you and your colleagues have a number of months to achieve something we can achieve.

the sustainable debt to ratio, including $1.2 trillion more of debt savings. i would love to see you and your members put this nonsense aside and work. >> it is not anything at all that the democrats showed a willingness to agree to. unless you're talking spending cuts, national defense, what other spending cuts have they risen to the cuts with? >> first of all, they have already cut, and not just they, you guys have already cut $1.5 trillion in spending from lowering discretionary caps. secondly, the president put 400 billion on spending cuts and entitlements. concrete cuts on the table, offered to john boehner in december.

>> made the specific entitlement programs that the -- >> medicare and social security. >> okay, obama care took -- 7 -- >> when you go back up to the hill, can you give john boehner my copy of the 27th amendment on congressional pay? >> i can tell you he has already read it. >> thank you both very much for joining me tonight. coming up, the president didn't say a word about gun control or the second amendment yesterday, but the nra's wayne lapierre has scheduled an announcement likely to occur live in this segment. and here on the 40th anniversary of roe v. wade. and in the rewrite, what did bill o'reilly say last night in reaction to president obama's speech that slaveholders would actually have agreed with wholeheartedly. in the rewrite coming up. ♪ [ male announcer ] how do you turn an entrepreneur's dream... ♪

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you would think after being

wrong about everything. and i do mean everything, after being wrong about slavery, after being wrong about women getting the right to vote, and wrong about civil rights, wrong about vietnam, wrong about weapons of mass destruction in iraq. after being wrong about that, and that is just the tip, after being wrong about that, conservatives would have some self doubt about some things. but hard headedness is what makes them conservatives. it is what makes bill o'reilly bill o'reilly. bill o'reilly and his reaction to the inaugural address and his criticism of the inaugural address is in the rewrite tonight. that is coming up. hey! did you know that honey nut cheerios

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the court said in a 7 to 2 decision that in the first three months of pregnancy, only the woman and her physician may decide whether or not she may have an abortion. >> it means that january 2nd, 1977, will stand out for free choice. >> the american women must rededicate themselves to the protection and the sacredness of all human life. >> today, marks the 40th anniversary of roe v. wade. and on this day, a news poll finds for the first time, the majority of americans, 54%, believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. 41% say it should always be legal.

23% say it should be legal most of the time, 35% say abortion should be illegal with some exceptions. and only 9%, just 9% hold the republican party view that abortion should be illegal without any exceptions. the poll found that 70% oppose overturning roe v. wade compared to just 24% who support overturning the roe v. wade decision. president obama released this statement today. on the 40th anniversary of roe v. wade, we reaffirm its historical commitment to protect the health and reproductive rights of women, and the standing that government should not interfere with the most private family matters and women should be able to make their choices about their bodies and health care. today, the efforts to reduce

unintended pregnancies, and minimize the need for abortion. on this anniversary we re-commit ourselves to supporting women and families and the choices they make and redouble the efforts to promote safe and healthy communities. joining me now is cecille richards, the president of planned parenthood. it is striking that the 40th anniversary of roe v. wade, there are no women alive before roe v. wade knew a world in which there was not the opportunity. >> and the nbc poll is fascinating. it really shows there is consistent support in this country for a woman making her own decisions, and among the next generation, consistently the same belief. that women, not politicians should make their personal decisions about their health care.

>> and when you see that 9%, on what is the paul ryan, the no exceptions position on abortion, the abortion that was held by all of those crazy republicans who tried to justify it this year by saying things like, well, you know in rape, the female body has defenses against pregnancy and rape, and all that nutty stuff. that view is held by 9% of the population, which is an impossible electoral position for the republican party. >> that is what i think, and that is what they are saying at the planned parenthood. they are so out of step, these representatives across the country, they are so out of step on women and women's health care access. what we saw in the election, this extreme position on women's health, overturning roe v. wade, getting rid of planned parenthood. that probably cost him the election, certainly with women and younger voters. and i think it will cost other folks, as well. >> and the polling is showing an expanding favorability for abortion rights, and republicans

always do this. it is never confused with abortion. they pretend that women when they come to this choice, they assume that women do so happily, gleefully, that it is a light thing to do. but this is support for abortion rights that is even stronger than exists in roe v. wade. >> that is right, i don't know, i feel like there are too many folks in office trying to play politics with this issue. i don't know if its their own particular point of view. and what we see consistently, it is so fascinating to me at planned parenthood -- they can't make that decision for every woman in america, that no one can walk in another woman's shoes. that is what this polling is showing. what we saw in the state of mississippi when they defeated overwhelmingly an amendment that would have created this amendment. that is really where the

american people are. and frankly, what the american people want to government to do is help women get access to birth control and family planning. this president, i know their planning has helped women get more access to birth control than we've seen in history. >> how much would you credit your own work and the positive work done by planned parenthood, in expanding people's understanding of abortion rights? and pregnancy rights. and the right wing's crazy approach to it. i mean, it seems to me when they make this crazy approach to it they actually create allies of yours who might have been on the fence and unsure. and it just pushes them to your side. >> absolutely, i think it is what you see. the hardening support for abortion rights in roe v. wade, is really reflected in that fact. and the past year, the assault on planned parenthood, we gained more for our organization, and most importantly a whole

generation of young women and men who say we're never going back to the days before roe. >> thank you for joining us on this important day. when president obama said "we cannot mistake absolutism for principle" that apparently was too much for absolutist wayne lapierre to take. the chief lobbyist for the nra is going to make an announcement in nevada. that is coming up. and why, why was joe biden running, literally running all over pennsylvania avenue yesterday? what does that mean? what is the running man up to? and what does it mean for hillary clinton? that is coming up next. it always begins with fresh, local milk, blended with real wholesome cream. going fresh from the farm, to our fridge, in just six days. because we believe in fresh taste. that's the way we set the standard

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i'm getting texts from the final inaugural ball. that is right, the final inaugural ball is actually still under way at this hour. the staff ball started at 6:00 this evening.

it is the ball for all of the presidential staff. campaign staff, people who have been working on all the other inaugural festivities for the president this weekend. the president, joined by the first lady, spoke to the staff this evening. lady gaga performed, and then tony bennett tweeted this, on a date with my lady tonight, lady gaga, white house ball. and the latest text i have, tony bennett just came on stage. that is the latest, from the staff ball. the most well-deserved ball of any of these balls that have happened all of this weekend. coming up, wayne lapierre apparently did not like president obama's inaugural address, big surprise, but he is actually scheduling a live announcement tonight, probably within this hour in nevada. we will carry it live if he does it on schedule. the nra chief lobbyist reacting to the president's speech. and in the rewrite tonight, why conservatives who have been

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wayne lapierre is speaking live in nevada. we're going to go to that now. >> yesterday, in his second inaugural address, president barack obama quoted the declaration of independence. and he talked about unalienable rights. i would argue that his words make a mockery of both. i would like to talk to you about one line near the end of president obama's speech. where he said "we cannot mistake absolutism for principle." let me quote the president again. we cannot mistake absolutism for principle. so what is this absolutism attacks and what are the

so-called principles that he wants us to settle for instead? obama wants to turn the idea of absolutism into a dirty word. just another word for extremism. he wants you, all of you and americans throughout all of this country to accept the idea of principles as he sees fit. it is a way of redefining words so that common sense is turned upside down, and that nobody knows the difference. think about it for just a minute. as families, when we're broke, and all of our credit cards are maxed out, we're all forced to tighten our belts. but when government is broke, and our bond rating is tumbling, and the president wants more programs, borrowing more money

is supposed to be principle. and anybody who questions that is a no-good absolutist, obama code for extremist. we as gun owners face that same kind of false ultimatum. we're told that to stop insane killers, we must accept less freedom. less than the criminal class, and the political elites. less than they keep for themselves. we're told that limits on magazine capacity or bans on 100-year-old firearm technology, bans that only will affect lawful people will somehow make us safer. we're told that wanting the same technology that the criminals and our elites are protected by for themselves, is a form of

absolutism. and that accepting less freedom and protection for ourselves is the only principled way to live. barack obama is saying that the only principled way to make children safe is to make lawful citizens less safe. criminals couldn't care less about barack obama's so-called principles, they don't have principles, that is why they're called criminals. you all know that. obama wants you to believe that putting the federal government right in the middle of every firearms transaction except those between criminals will somehow make us all safer. that means forcing law-abiding people to force over excessive

fees to exercise their rights, forcing parents to fill out forms to leave a family heirloom to loved ones, standing in line filling out a bunch of paperwork, just so a grandfather can give a grandson a christmas gift. he wants to put every private personal firearms transaction right under the thumb of the federal government. and he wants to keep all of those names in a massive federal registry. there is only two reasons for a federal list on gun owners, to either tax them or take them. it is the only reason. and anyone who says that is excessive, president obama says you're an absolutist. he doesn't understand you. he doesn't agree with the freedoms that all of you love,

and americans all over this great land cherish in their hearts. if the only way he can force you to give them up is through scorn and ridicule, he will do it. even as he claims the moral high ground, he said in the very same sentence that obama talked about absolutism versus principle, he also scolds the critics. he is more than willing to demonize his opponents, and slur the nra. in the words of senator charles schumer, as an extremist fringe group. and look how he demonizes the republicans in congress. when barack obama says we can't mistake absolutism for principle, what he is saying is that precision and clarity and

exactness and sameness in law should be the same as nebulous undefined principles. i got news for the president. absolutists do exists, words do have meaning in language and law. it is the basis of all civilization. it is why all the laws are written down, so the letter of the law carries the force of the law. that is why our bill of rights was written into law, to ensure that fundamental freedoms of a minority could never be denied by a majority. those are the principles we call unalienable rights. without these absolutes, protections, democracy decays

into nothing more than two wolves and one lamb, voting on who to eat for lunch. i under our president to use caution when attacking clearly defined absolutes, in favor of his principles. mr. president, just because you wish words meant something other than what they mean. >> okay, that is enough of wayne lapierre for now, with me, karen finney, frank smyth, who has been following the nra closely, i wanted to play what the president said yesterday that has wayne lapierre so upset. the statement the president made about don't mistake absolutism for principle, let's listen to that. >> we cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name calling as reasonable

debate. we must act, we must act knowing that our work will be imperfect. we must act knowing that today's victories will be only partial. and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years, and 40 years, and 400 years hence, to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare philadelphia hall. >> e.j. dion, of course that is an -- >> i thought absolutism was already a dirty word, and it didn't take president obama to do it. >> lapierre said absolutism is another word for extremism, which, yes, in many instances it is. >> what i found odd about his

talk is first, this at least looked moderately more reasonable than that crazy outburst he gave right after newtown. so somehow he is pulling back. but the second thing, it is tiring rhetoric where he says the laws only affect lawful people. well, the whole reason for the background check is to keep the guns out of the hands of criminals. they're very tired arguments. >> and karen, they always say it wouldn't always stop every one of them. >> of course, that is the absolutism. >> but the line in there, the president saying we must act knowing that our work will be imperfect, act knowing that today's victories will only be impartial. >> what he was speaking to, the nra says why do anything? that is not going to solve what happened at newtown. how about friday? there was a white supremacist arrested with high capacity

magazines, today, there was a shooting at a school in texas, a community college. we are still learning the details, but the president has talked about gun safety and keeping guns out of the people who should not have them. so we shouldn't try at all because we may not have been able to stop newtown? no. >> and just on that point, justice scalia agrees with obama on this absolutist issue, because justice scalia says that the second amendment allows various kinds of firearms. >> and you have been watching wayne lapierre closely, i would think this is pretty much on track. >> this is on track, but wayne lapierre has made a calculated decision to try to co-op the decision and change the debate. the nra has an absolutist interpretation of the second amendment, something i used, something "the washington post" used, that is what most would

consider an extreme interpretation, an interpretation that says the citizens have the full right as the police force. that is the right of "the wall street journal" editorial page. >> and you maintain it is for the right of individuals to be able to match law enforcement and even military in fire power. >> the driving force of the nra is that they believe they want to have the legal right to be heavily armed to fight a future tyrannical government. but if you listen to other second amendment activists, such as neo-nazi organizations, they called it a zionist type government. so the nra occupies a far right of the spectrum, the real

message is they have an absolutist agenda, it is what most people would call an extremist agenda. and rather than be called out on this, what i think lapierre is trying to do is change the terms of the debate in a pre-emptive strike. >> what he did in the first few minutes, which i think is all we probably need to hear. he is just wrapping up now. he says he managed to come out against the president's proposal for all background checks on firearms transactions. never mind that of course all automotive transactions are also tracked by the government. and those include some heirlooms, there are some grandfathers giving away the '57 t-bird, and the government has to check the papers on this, too. >> it is so insulting, the idea we should not have to fill out any paperwork to have a gun. but we have to fill out all sorts of paperwork to vote, and in some states i have to have a vaginal probe before i can access a legal medical

procedure. and that seems to be okay. the hypocrisy of the arguments is outrageous. >> we want to know about the grandfathers, what can kill people, yes, we want to keep track of that if that can kill people. >> he went after the background checks, i think there is an excellent chance that congress will propose -- that and the ban on big magazines. so the fact he is going there, i think he is worried that people who want saner regulations have actually gained ground on that. >> and then frank, he says the reason they want to track the transactions, so they will know who all the gun owners are so we can tax them or take them. >> if you accept the premise that you could have a future government that is wrong, the first thing they would do is come to gun owners' homes, seize

the weapons. most of us can't conceive this. this is the fantasy that nra leaders and others are living with. most gun owners wouldn't have a problem with gun registration, but if you are fearing the government, the reason you don't want any gun registration, it would give big brother opportunities. >> do they just not get license plates? >> most of them register their cars. >> the government can take those cars. >> as the nra whips up this excitement, the gun sales go up. a one dollar program with some of the gun manufacturers, they get more money. so some of this comes back to commerce and following the dollars. >> and the membership goes up, a lot of what the nra is saying is not aimed at influencing the

larger argument. there are extreme things hurting them in larger argument, they feel pressure against the organizations and others to their right. and i think that will really mess up their strategy, because the people on the fence here are moderate politicians responding to moderate voters. and extreme arguments to boost their membership to fend off right wing organizations is not going to get to those folks. >> but i think, e.j., by capturing the term absolutist, the nra is trying to preempt people from explaining their absolutism as being extreme. so in that extreme, they're influencing the people from the extreme in the debate. >> thank you for helping me cover the first rebuttal to the president's state of the union address. >> we're going to take a break, we'll be right back. whoa !

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although social justice is a noble goal, it is simply

impossible to do what the president wants to do. >> that was bill o'reilly last night with his talks of the second inaugural address. no surprise, the republicans didn't much like the president's speech. senator mitch mcconnell said that he proved the era of liberalism is back. that was the favorite quote ever by a democrat, which was bill clinton saying in his fourth state of the union address, the era of big government is over. here is some of the crazy liberalism that republicans had to endure yesterday. >> what makes us american is our allegiance to an idea articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago. we hold these truths to be self evident. that all men are created equal. that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable

rights. that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. >> the president's speech was not entirely original. he lifted some of the language from his heroes. no, not marx or castro or bill ayers, here is some of the borrowed language. >> we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half slave and half free. we made ourselves new and vowed to move forward together. >> we were reminded today that

in abraham lincoln's second inaugural address, he said that every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword. and president lincoln said i believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. here is a bit that conservatives really hated. >> preserving our individual freedoms, ultimately requires collective action. >> collective action? you can't get more socialistic than collective action, right? 50 years ago at the other end of the mall, a spot the president could see during his speech yesterday, martin luther king jr. said the same thing, using different words. instead of collective action he said "we cannot walk alone." in his "i have a dream" speech, the reverend martin luther king jr. said many of our white brothers as evidenced by their presence here today have come to realize that their destiny is

tied up with our destiny, that their freedom is bound to our freedom. we can't walk alone. of course, conservatives never much liked dr. king. but conservatives claim an enduring devotion to our founding documents, the declaration of independence, the constitution, even though they have always had trouble believing those founding documents really apply to everyone. so of course, conservatives just hated this. >> we, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths, that all of us are created equal. is the star that guides us still, just as it guided our forebears through seneca falls and stonewall, just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints

along this great mall, to hear a preacher say we can't walk alone. to hear a king proclaim that our individual freedom is bound to the freedom of every soul on earth. >>t heoc that bill o'reilly believes is impossible. that is the dreaded liberalism mitch mcconnell is talking about. >> it is now our generation's task to carry on what those pioneers began. for our journey is not complete. >> that is the problem. that is the problem, conservatives firmly believe that our journey is complete. they have always believed that our journey is complete. when only white men had the right to vote, conservatives believed that our journey was complete. conservatives, by definition, want to conserve, they want to preserve, they want to preserve things, their things, including their wealth, their voting rights and their marriage rights.

and they don't want to share those things in any way. conservatives have always been wrong about these things. republican conservatives and democrat party conservatives opposed the march of women's rights. republican conservatives and democratic party conservatives opposed the march of civil rights. now when i talk about conservatives, i am not talking about just republican conservatives. i am talking about republican conservatives, democratic conservatives, independent conservatives. conservatives always thought that everyone had as many rights as they needed, and that people who didn't have the right to vote like women and african-americans did not need the right to vote and would not know how to use it if they had it. conservatives don't want to be on a journey.

they don't believe we have a journey. conservatives oppose progress in every way they can. many conservative supporters of slavery in this country made these same arguments against president lincoln that bill o'reilly made last night against president obama. >> so it is quite clear that the president is willing to go down in history as a crusader for social justice. no matter what happens to the economic fabric of the country. >> supporters of slavery were always claiming that emancipation would destroy the fabric of the country, and there is bill o'reilly echoing it on the anniversary of the emancipation. >> bill o'reilly doesn't understand that, conservatives do not understand that. and they never have. when times change, so must we. they have never understood that

the constitution must be constantly reinterpreted in the context of the times. like president lincoln before him, president obama listed a series of things that we all take for granted today that the constitution did not provide for. such as a huge standing army, the biggest one in the world. we have shown you before on this program how much modern day republicans disagree with their hero, ronald reagan on everything from tax increases to death ceiling increases to banning assault weapons. the only thing they claim to admire as much as him, is the first president, lincoln, if they heard lincoln say this in the first inaugural address they would have booed him. "no organic law can ever be framed with the provision